I keep wanting to write but then I think, where do I start? it has been a month and so much has happened. So today I thought I would take a break from trying to figure out this new city I live in and doctors and dentists and schools..... and just write some to catch you up on what we are doing.
I looked back at what I last wrote, back in May. Well, the kids finished their school year with great grades. They were a bit sad to be done and saying good buy to friends. Andrew made a good friend at school, Sean. He was able to go over to his house a few times and Sean came to ours once. Ruth’s friends were all sad she was leaving. The kids had farewell parties thrown for them too. I am glad that they were able to have such good friends.
I took some pictures of the kids playing in the open space behind our house the last week before we moved. They enjoyed going out there to play, ride bikes and explore.
The back of our house, the middle white one
The last day of school
The day after school got out the kids and I packed up the car and drove to Utah. It was a big adventure for me to drive that far with out Neal. I was worried but it went smoothly. The kids did great. They helped me stay awake and keep going. We made it to my parents home that evening in time for dinner. That week end we joined all my siblings and many of my aunts, uncles and cousins in celebrating my parents 50th wedding anniversary. It was special that we could be together. My parents have been a great example to me and I consider them some of my best friends. I am glad that it worked out for me to be with them on that special day. We stayed just for the week end and drove back to Colorado on Monday, June 1st.
My wonderful family
Friday, June 5th, the moving company came and loaded everything onto their big truck. That is one thing about using a moving company that is nice, you know that they will take everything, you don’t have to worry about it fitting onto the truck. It was all loaded and they were done by about 3:00 that afternoon. Neal and I were busy cleaning the house as they emptied rooms. I was tired and glad when it got done. That evening my visiting teacher brought over dinner. It was much appreciated. We ate a picnic on a blanket in the kitchen.
June 6th was our 13th anniversary. We spent it finishing things up at the house, checking out of the rental house and then driving to Albuquerque. It was a tiring day. We got to the house and were glad to be “home.”
Sunday morning we got up, cleaned up and went to church. It was nice that so many people were welcoming to us. Everyone seemed happy to see Neal’s family was finally there. I have already been asked to teach a Primary class, so I went to primary that day. Neal and I are team teaching the CTR 5 class. That evening a member of our bishopric came to our house to visit with me. He officially called me to be a primary teacher and also asked if I would be a den leader over the Bears in cub scouts. I am still trying to figure out that calling. Thankfully it is summer time and they didn’t have much planned with the den. While talking to him we found out that cub scout day camp was that week. We didn’t know about that. I am thankful we found out. Brother Wilcox was so good to help us get Andrew there. Monday afternoon he brought me the papers that needed to be filled out and got me the information of where to bring Andrew Tuesday morning. Monday was a busy day. We were also doing final packing for Ruth to go to girls camp. Tuesday morning we got Ruth off to girls camp and Andrew to his day camp. I remember it was about 10:00 in the morning and I just had the two younger boys with me, in a basically empty house, wondering what we should do that day. We hadn’t heard anything from the moving company yet. Then I got a phone call from the driver of the truck saying he was on his way to deliver. I was surprised because we hadn’t gotten notice yet. He thought someone had called us Monday. Anyway, I called Neal and he was able to come home from work. The movers got here before Neal and started setting things us to move our things in. They made quick work of it and were done by mid afternoon. When Andrew came home from day camp that afternoon he found a house full of boxes and furniture. I wondered where we would fit everything. This house is a bit smaller than our Texas house. We enjoyed being in a bigger house in Colorado, so I feel a bit squished again.
Andrew loved going to scout camp. He came home every afternoon all excited about the activities they had done. Again I was thankful we found out about the day camp in time for him to join them. We also went to the library often so I could check my email and look things up on the internet, until we got the internet set up at the house. Then my real work began of unpacking and deciding where things could go. I think we are pretty well settled in. We have things stacked in the garage still, that will eventually get arranged better. We decided to put out dining table in the kitchen and use the formal dining room as a storage area. I think it will work. I remind myself that this is a rental and only temporary. Although I do like the house. I like the floor plan and the feel of it. It would be perfect if it had a basement to store things in.
The yard could be a bit better. The back yard was once landscaped because there are bushes and flower bed edging, but no lawn and there are lots of weeds. The kids love it. The boys see it as one big dirt digging place. They have made little roads in the dirt. The boys have been digging out weeds to make it easier to get to the dirt. They are enjoying playing with all their big dump trucks and out door trucks again. They have sat in the basement in CO for a year, so it is nice they can play with them again.
These pictures were before our vacation in the back yard. While we were gone weeds sprung up in abundance, maybe because of the rain.
Ruth really enjoyed going to girls camp. She had lots of fun making new friends there. It was a good way for her to jump right into a new ward. There are five Beehives (the class for her age group) and she has really enjoyed doing things with them. This week she even had a class swim party and loved it. I am glad that she can make friends here.
This summer we are participating in co-op summer school classes. There are a group of members from our ward and a neighboring ward who teach classes for kids ages 5-12. We found out about this last March when Neal moved here and the organizers let me know about it. The kids have enjoyed doing some classes already. Caleb did a craft class and a “around the world” class. He loved going to them and making friends with other kids. Spencer did a class that he got to make a pinewood derby car. Ruth is doing a craft class and did a “how to be a good babysitter” class. Andrew is looking forward to his classes coming up. They are all sorts of activities. Each child gets to do 3 or 4 classes. I am teaching two classes. I will be doing a science experiment class and Andrew has been helping me get ready for that. I will also be doing a sewing class. It has been a fun way to get to know people in the ward.
The weather was really hot in June. I was having a hard time with the heat. Our land lord had hired the handy man to come over and get the swamp cooler working. There were problems with it and things needed to get replaced. It was getting so hot in the house. It was up to 85 degrees in the house, but over 100 outside. I was so happy when we could start using the cooler and get the house cooled down. I was also told that June was the hottest month of the year here. So far that is true. This week has felt great. I think the hottest it has been is 85, today it didn’t get over 80. We also are having a lot of rain this week. I was told that July is the rainy season here and it is cooler and rain almost every day for about 2 weeks. I don’t mind. Although the humidity is higher, it isn’t too hot.
One thing that is really nice is that the Albuquerque temple is about a five minute drive from our house. Neal and I went one evening. Then one Monday evening we took the kids there to look around. I am thankful we will be close to a temple. That is a nice benefit to living here.
Ruth enjoying a donut and Caleb showing his love.
The family by the temple
We are enjoying going to the library and participating in their programs. We have attended some fun activities and the kids have been reading to earn free books. They got to pick out new books to keep today. They liked that. We also went to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History. I found out about a program that if you have a membership to a science museum you can get free membership to other participating museums. So we went to the museum here and bought a membership. It was fun to look around. We will need to go again soon. When we were in Utah we were able to go to Thanksgiving Point museum without paying. I thought that was worth it.
at the science museum
That brings me to our vacation. We went to Utah the last week of June and into July. I am out of time now and this is getting long. I think I will end this letter now and next time I will write more about our vacation.
If you would like our new address please send me a personal message and I will send it to you.
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